Shredder-feeder.



PATENTQEEMAE. 20, 1906. v. E. w. CRANE.y

SEEEDDEE FEEDER. APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 5. 1905.

George W. Crane -UNITED sfrnrns mrririvr: orrrcn.

GEORGEWURANE, QF VEEDERSBURG; INDlANA.

` sHREDDEia-FEEDE-R.. p

specificati@ f Letters Patent Patented Mar-c1120, 1190.6.

To all whom it may concern:n i

Be it known that I, `Grnorterr. Wl CRANE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Veedersburg, in the county of Fountain and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and -useful Im rovements in -Shredder-Feeders, of which t e following is a speciiication. The object of my invention is to produce a feeder, more especially designed for cornshredders, by means of which the fodder may be fed to a shredder uniformly and evenly, the arrangement'being such as to prevent slugging of--the shredder.

The accompanying drahvings illustrate my invention.

Figure 1 is a central vertical section; Fig. 2, a plan with part of the cover-board omitted, and Fig. 3 a detail ofthe bracket for supportin the first feed-roll frame;

'In t e drawings, 10 indicates anendless carrierprovided with cross-slats 1;1 and 11pwardly-projecting lugs 12, saidconveyerlbeing driven by any suitable means-such, yfor linstance, as the reversing driving-gearing 13, which is described and .claimed'in my Patent No. 740,245. The -conveyer is generally built to form part of a shredder and discharges tothe snapping-,rollers in the usual manner.

Pivoted at vabove ythe conveyer 10Iis -a frame 16, which extends rearwardly rand carries at itsfree end -a feed-'roller :l 7 which is 4pro- (l nection for the roller'17 I vided onits periphery with a plurality of transversely-sep arated lugs 1:8 ,which straighten the stalks on the carrier 1 0 and preventthem from being fed crosswise to the snapping-rollers.

The roller v17 is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1 by any-suitable means such, for instance, as a sprocket-chain '19, leading back to a-nidler 20', journaled on one of thepivots 15, and a sprocket-chain 21, connecting said idler with the forward shaft of the conveyer-10. In arranging-the driving conrefer to makethe peripheral 4speed voftheroer 17 `slightly less th-an lthe speed ofthe conveyer 10 in'forder that the roller -17 may thus operate as a slight drag uponthe upper portion ofthe bed of fodder to allow the under part of thefodder-bed to feed to the snapping-rollers a little in advance` of theupper ortion, so that the ears of corn carried lby e lower portion of the fodder-bed will` get out of the -way before the upper portion :of the ibed reaches the snapping-rollers. In order to prevent drag on the feeder, however, when-the upper'por-i tion Iofthe fodder-bed is engaged by the snapping-rollers, and thus drawn more rapidly to the rear, I prefer to drive the roller 17 by a ratchet driving connection, `such as shown and claimed in my pending application, Serial No. 213,679, which connect-ion is of such character -that when :the snapping-rollers engage the u per lstalks of the fodder-bed and pull-them' orward at 'a speed greater than the speed ofthe drive of the roller 17 said roller -17 may-thus Abe'given la peripheral speed substantially equalto the :movement of the stalks caused .by the action of the snappingerollers.

The lweight Aof the frame 1 6 is 'partially supported Jby means .of a which is attached to the frame 16 and the other end of which is attached carriedby a shaft24, journaled on the coverboard l43. Shaft 24 carriesan arm -25, which projects downward and has adjustably attached to it an ,arm 26, which extends forward and downward and is provided at its of a spring 27,-whichacts inonjunction with of the weight of the-frame 16.

Fivoted to the frame 16 and extending rearwardly therefrom is a roller-frame 30, which carries at its rear end a pressure-roller 31, equipped-with teeth 32, similar to the teeth 1-8 on lroller 17. The Weight of frame 30 and roller 31 yis partially supported by la spring 33, the V.forward end of' which is attached to abracket 34, secured to the coverboard/43.

veyer A-1-0 and extending downward and rearward therefrom is a deector-board 36, the forward-,end orf'which carries a roller 3'7, which rolls upon the top ofthe fodder-'bed `as it is carried inward by theconveyer v10.

In order to prevent sluggingof the machine by feeding-tooithick abed of fodder, I provide Vbetween rollers 37 and 17 a stop-rake 38 which vis lsupported by apair of upwardlyextending arms '39, each of which 'is pivoted at 40 to aflever 41,*pivoted at 42 to the under side of the cover 43. The exact position of the rake-bar 38 between the two rollers 37 and 1,7 can'be adjusted bymeans 'of' apin-and- `slot. adfiustrnent 44. Theforward end oflever 41 is connected'byaipin-and-slot connection 45 with, a bracket 4 6, attached tothe upper side of the deflector-board r36, Vthe aryrangernentbeing such thatwhen the rear end -4 of the deflect-onboard 36'is'moved upward by end with Aa hookadapted to receive oneend the spring'22,:to assist in supporting a portion to an arm 23,

-Iivoted at -35.0n cover 43fabove theconboard to drop down and lift the rake 38 out of.

the path of movement of the fodder-bed.

A portion of the weight of the deflectorboard 36 is supported by a spring 47, the tension of which may be adjusted by suitable nuts 48, carried by a rod 48, attached at its y under end to the deflector-board 36. Ar-

ranged between board 36 and cover 43 is a spring 49, which will come into engagement with the cover 43 when the deflector-board is raised a suicient amount, and thus supplement the weight of the deflector-board when it has been moved upward by too great an amount of fodder being fed to the machine. A suitable stop is arranged in the path of movement of each of the brackets 46, so as to prevent an upward movement of the deflector-board which would be sufficient to project the rake-teeth 38 into the path of movement of the lugs 12 of the conveyer 10.

The pivots 15 are supported in crotchbearings 52, which are carried by the sides of the cover 43, said crotch-bearings being open at their rear sides to receive the pivots, the arrangement being such that springs 22 and 27 serve to keep the pivots 15 in their bearings, but also such that by disconnecting springs 22 and 33 from the frames 16 and 30 said frame may be moved slightly to the rear and thenv entirely detached from the machine, whereupon the cover 43 may be shifted forward, so as to permit easy access to the shredder, if desired. The frames 16 and 30 may be swung forward upon th'e pivots 15 and the whole structure, if desired, shifted forward by sliding the board 43.

It will be noticed that by this construction I produce a very compact feeder structure which maybe easily attached to any shredder immediately above the usual endless feeder conveyer 10 thereof, it only being necessary to provide the short supplemental sides 53 to support my mechanism.`

I claim as my invention 1. In a feeder, the combination, with a feeding-carrier, of a deector-board arranged 'over said carrier and movable toward and from the same, a stop-rake also-mounted over the carrier to the rear of the deector, and intermediate connections between said stoprake'and said deflector-board whereby movement of the deflector-board from the carrier will-move the stop-rake toward the carrier.

2. In a feeder, the combination, with a feeding-carrier, of a deii'ector-board arranged over said carrier and movable toward and from the same, a stop-rake arranged to the rear of said deiector-board over the carrier, a

lever supporting said stop-rake at one end and connected at its other end to the deiiector-board whereby movement of the deflector-board from the carrier will produce movement of the stop-rake toward the carrier and vice versa.

3. In a feeder, the combination, with a feeding-carrier and its supporting-frame, of a cover-board adapted to rest upon suitable supports over said carrier, a deiector-board hinged to said cover and projecting rearward and downward toward the carrier, a stoprake carried by said cover to the rear of the deflector, and intermediate connections between said delector-board and the stop-rake whereby movement of the deiiector-board away from the carrier will move the stoprake toward the carrier and vice versa.

4. In a feeder, the combination, with a feeding-carrier and its supporting-frame, of a cover-board adapted to rest upon suitable supports over said carrier, a deflector-bo'ard hinged to said cover and projecting rearward and downward toward the carrier, a stoprake carried by said cover, intermediate connections between said deiector-board and the stop-rake whereby movement of the de- Hector-board away from the carrier will move the stop-rake toward the carrier and vice versa, bearing-brackets carried by said cover, a feed-roller frame pivoted in said bearingbrackets, a feed-roller carried by said frame, and a yielding support for said feed-roller frame carried by the cover.

5. In a feeder, the combination, with a feeding-carrier and its supporting-frame, of a cover-board adapted to rest upon suitable supports over said carrier, a deiiector-board hinged to said cover and projecting rearward and downward toward the carrier, a stoprake carried by said cover, intermediate connections between said deflector-board and the stop-rake whereby movement of thc deflector-board away from the carrier will move the stop-rake toward the carrier and vice versa, bearing-brackets carried by the cover and having pivot-receiving notches formed in. said brackets and open at the rear, a feedroller frame having pivot-pins adapted to be received in the notches of the bearing-brackets, a feed-roller carried by said frame, and means carried by the cover for supporting the rear end of the feed-roller frame.

6. In a feeder, the' combination, with a feeding-carrier and its supporting-frame, of a cover-board adapted to rest upon suitable supports over said carrier, a deiiector-board hinged to said cover and projecting rearward and downward toward the carrier, a stoprake carried by said cover, intermediate connections between said deiector-board and the stop-rake whereby movement of the deflector-board away from the carrier will move the stop-rake toward the carrier and vice versa, bearing-brackets carried by the cover IOO IIO

and having pivot-receiving notches formed in said brackets and open at the rear, a feedrollery frame havingpivot-pins adapted to be received in the notches of the bearing-brackets, a shaft journaled on the cover, an arm carried by said shaft, a connection between said arm and the rear end of the feed-roller frame, a second arm carried by said shaft opposite the first-mentioned arm, and a sprin supporting said second arm, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a feeder, the combination, with a feeding-carrier and its supporting-frame, of a cover-board adapted to rest upon suitable supports over said carrier, a deflector-board hinged to said cover and projecting rearward and downward toward the carrier, a stoprake carried by said cover, intermediate connections between said dellectorboard and the sto -rake whereby movement of the vdeflector-ldoard away from the carrier will move `the stop-rake toward ,the carrier and vice versa, bearingbrackets carried by said cover, a feed-roller frame pivotedin said bearingbrackets, a feed-roller carried by said frame,

a yielding support for said feed-roller frame carried by the cover, a shaft journaled on the cover, an arm carried by said shaft', a connection between said arm andthe rear end of the feed-roller frame, a second arm carried by said shaft opposite the first-mentioned arm,

and a spring supporting said second arm, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a feeder, the combination, with a feeding-carrier, of a deflector-board arranged over said carrier and movable .toward and from said carrier, a stop-rakearranged to the rear of said deflector-board and also movable toward and lfrom the carrier, intermediate connections between the deflector-board and the stop-rake whereby movement' of the de- Hector-board from the carrier will `produce y Hector-board.

i movement of the stop-rake toward the. carrier and vice versa, and a spring for normally supporting a portion of the weight of the de- 9. In a feeder, the combination, with aA flector-board away from the carrier will move the stopt-rake toward the carrier and vice versa, bearing-brackets carried by said cover, a feed-roller frame pivoted in said bearingbrackets, a yielding support for said feedrollerframe carried by the cover, a shaft journaled on the cover, .an arm carried by said shaft, a connection between said arm and the rear end ofthe feed-roller frame, a second arm carried by said shaft opposite-the firstmentioned arm, a spring supporting said second arm, and a spring arranged vto supple- 'ment the weight of the delector-board when it has been deflected through a portion of its movement from the carrier, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

' 10. In a feeder, the combination, with a feeding-carrier, of a deflector-board arranged over said carrier and movable toward and from said' carrier, a stop-rake arranged to the rear of said deflector-board and also movable toward and from the carrier, intermediate connections between the deflector-board and the stop-rake whereby movement of the delHector-board from the carrier will produce movement of the stop-rake toward the carrier and vice versa, a spring for normally supporting Va portion of the-weight of the deector-board, and a s ring-arranged to supplement the weight o the d'eflector-board when it has'been deflected through a portion of its movement from the carrier.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 15th day of May, A. D.; 1905.

' GEORGE W. CRANE. Witnesses:

ARTHUR M. Hoon, JAMES A. WALSH. 

